U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi engaged in a tense exchange with Democratic senators during a politically charged oversight hearing on Tuesday, where lawmakers frequently exchanged partisan criticisms regarding President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
Bondi, along with Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, defended the Trump administration’s actions in Chicago and other cities led by Democratic officials. She reiterated claims from Trump suggesting that drug cartels and crime are prevalent in Illinois, arguing that federal intervention is necessary—an assertion that state and local officials strongly contest.
“They’re not enforcing the law,” Bondi stated, referring to Illinois officials who recently filed a lawsuit to prevent Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago. “We’re going to keep our entire country safe.”
She emphasized, “We don’t care if you live in Chicago. We don’t care if you live in Florida. President Trump wants everyone to be safe.”
Illinois has joined other states in challenging the president’s authority to send troops to assist federal immigration agents amid public protests. An emergency order from an Oregon judge has already blocked troop deployment to that state, while a California judge ruled in September that Trump violated federal law by sending troops to Los Angeles.
During the hearing, Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, confronted Bondi, asserting that Trump had “illegally deployed troops to Chicago and other American cities.” Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has described the deployments as a strategy by the president to target political adversaries and retaliate against Democratic-led states.
In response to Durbin, Bondi remarked, “I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump. If you’re not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will.”
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